4.0 out of 5 stars
Old school speed metal, May 12, 2010
2000's Blood of Tyrants was the eighth studio album from Canadian speed metal legends Exciter. Changing tastes and lineups played havoc on the band, but I have to give Exciter credit for not deviating from their chosen style of metal. Blood of Tyrants is straight-up 80s-style speed metal.
The two things that stand out the most about Blood of Tyrants are the insanely fast guitar riffs and Jacques Belanger's falsetto vocals. The guitar work is par for Exciter's course, but man those vocals are really in your face. I think they're great, as they remind me of Helstar's James Rivera. The album's whole vibe is very 80's speed/power/thrash, bringing to mind Vicious Rumors and Sanctuary. The lyrics are pretty clichéd, but that's part of the charm of metal anthems like "Metal Crusaders" and "Weapons of Mass Destruction." It's definitely dated, but I love it.
I wouldn't call Blood of Tyrants an essential album, but it's definitely an album Exciter fans should own. Obviously it wasn't a huge success, since it would be nearly a decade before Exciter would issue a proper follow-up in 2008's
Thrash, Speed, Burn (that
New Testament mess doesn't count).
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